Campedelli talks up Giaccherini

Cesena President Igor Campedelli has lavished praise on former player Emanuele Giaccherini, ahead of his return to the club this weekend.

Cesena President Igor Campedelli has lavished praise on former player EmanueleGiaccherini, ahead of his return to the club this weekend.

The diminutive winger was a part of the Cavallucci Marini team that enjoyed consecutive promotions into Serie A and then managed to stay up in the top Division last season.

Although Giak is likely to start from the bench on his return to the Dino Manuzzi stadium with current side Juventus, it is believed that he could take centre stage in the boardroom, with Campedelli reportedly set to discuss his future with Juve,[12] as he is still co-owned between the Turin side and Cesena.

Ahead of his return and perhaps with those negotiations with Beppe Marotta in mind, Campedelli has talked up Giaccherini’s worth.

“Without disservice to any of the players who have helped in the last three years in taking Cesena from Serie C1 to surviving in Serie A, Emanuele Giaccherini has been the most decisive of them all,” declared Campedelli to the Corriere di Romagna on Friday.

“Since I have been President of Cesena, he is the player to have grown the most from all points of view - technically, tactically and physically.

“He is extraordinary because he has moral qualities - an iron will, fierce determination, an out of the ordinary spirit of sacrifice and an extraordinary humility.

“If in the summer of 2008 someone had said that in three years Giaccherini would be playing for Juventus, we would have all thought them mad.

“But, he has become a Juventus player, more than that too, a major player in the team’s ranking in the League, because of his commitment and work ethic.”

Campedelli was asked about the gap Giaccherini has left at the Emilia-Romagna outfit. Cesena are almost mathematically relegated, as they sit bottom of the League, 15 points from safety with just 18 points to play for.

“We’ve missed him a lot, as [Massimo] Ficcadenti said last year, Giaccherini is the prototype of the modern footballer.

“With him on the field, we had 12 players, because he defends and attacks with the same ease and the same desire. He is one of the best interpreters of the modern game.”